Kentucky Exposition Center

The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), formerly Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (KFEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is overseen by the Kentucky State Fair Board, and is one of the ten largest facilities of its type in the U.S., with over one million square feet of indoor space.

Cardinal Stadium, an onsite baseball/football field with a capacity of up to 47,925, was formerly home to the University of Louisville football and Louisville Redbirds minor league baseball teams. Freedom Hall is one of two onsite arenas, and provides 19,000 seats for the University of Louisville basketball team. Also located onsite is Broadbent Arena, a smaller arena with a maximum capacity of 6,600.

The site, which shares its 19,000 parking spots with the adjacent Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, falls far short of the capacity of the various KEC facilities. The site has 1,000 permanent horse stalls, 720 temporary stalls and capacity for livestock as well. The limited parking capacity and the one way "ring road" are two commonly cited criticisms of the facilities.

KEC hosts a number of events, including the Kentucky State Fair, the North American International Livestock Exposition and the National Farm Machinery Show. It is located adjacent to I-65 and the Henry Watterson Expressway, as well as the Louisville International Airport.

Past sporting events held at KEC include six NCAA Final Fours, the minor league world series, and the Bluegrass Bowl, a failed attempt to start an annual college football bowl game.

In 2004, Louisville was selected as one of five cities in the United States to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports franchise which started 2005. Titled the Panasonic Open, the event was held at the Kentucky Exposition Center from June 8-12. The event returned to Louisville in 2006.

In February 2006 the facility changed its name from "Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center" to simply "Kentucky Exposition Center" to "more accurately reflect the facility's mission."

In April 2006, demolition began on KEC's East Wing, which was built as part of the original facility in 1956. It is being with replaced with the new North Wing, a more modern Class "A" exhibition space with higher ceilings and fewer support poles, similar to the South Wing. The new facility, which also features a skywalk, allowing those parking in the rear of the facility to access the lobby without going through the new hall, is scheduled to be completed in October 2007. [http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2006/04/03/story2.html]

External links

* [http://www.kyexpo.org/ Kentucky Exposition Center official website]